UWCL Fantasy is upon us and that means the return of Georgia Stanway to ShePlays Fantasy! Stanway and her Bayern Munich teammates who will be hoping for a first ever UEFA Women’s Champion’s League title.

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Stanway Returns from the World Cup

Georgia Stanway has returned from the World Cup looking to build on a successful first season at FC Bayern Munich Frauen. The 2022-23 season saw the club reclaim the Frauen-Bundesliga title from rivals Wolfsburg.

In her first season at the club, Bayern performed well in the UWCL. Their European highlight being an impressive 3-1 group-stage victory over the eventual winners Barcelona.

Popular with the fans, Stanway was awarded with Bayern’s Player of the Year last season. Also, popular with club management, she recently signed a contract extension to 2026.

Stanway’s 2022-23 Season

The midfield maestro’s fearless attacking ability and knack for finding the net from long range has complemented the more sturdy and defensive approach of her midfield colleague Sarah Zadrazil (the Austrian-team captain). Stanway also takes the penalties, converting all three of spot kicks, including the crucial winning goal at home to Wolfsburg in March that turned the tide in their successful title chase.

Stanway finished the season with a total of ten goals across all club competitions, including three in the UWCL. Among the highlights reel, were her two late strikes from outside the box away to Benfica in the UWCL group stage in what ended a thrilling come from behind victory. 

Bayern’s 2022-23 Season

Last season, Bayern failed to progress past the UWCL quarter finals, falling narrowly to Arsenal at the Emirates in late March. However, the Munich Mädels bounced back from an early loss to Wolfsburg to go undefeated in the league for the rest of the season, winning sixteen matches and drawing just one.

Overcoming the She-Wolves was a huge achievement. By the numbers effectively, the season came down to the final weekend. But a home fixture against already relegated strugglers FFC Turbine Potsdam (which ended in a team-record-breaking 11-1 scoreline) provided a rather anti-climactic end to what had been an attritional but rewarding league campaign.

Summer Signings

Wolfsburg still looking like the team to beat in German women’s football, Bayern cannot rest on their laurels. The squad has strengthened over the summer, with two spectacular acquisitions of Denmark’s captain Pernille Harder and Sweden’s Magdalena Eriksson (both signed from reigning WSL champions Chelsea). Among their other signings are Scottish midfielder Samantha Kerr, Austria’s goal-scoring defender Katharina Naschenweng, French defender Inès Belloumou, Dutch midfielder Jill Baijings, and 18-year old Colombian defender Ana María Guzmán. Bayern are also boosted by the return from injury of key play-makers Giulia Gwinn and Linda Dallmann.

This Season

It will be interesting to see how the team can utilise these new signings, especially in the UWCL, a highly-competitive tournament where they will be desperate to go a step further than achieved in previous seasons. One also wonders how Norwegian coach Alexander Straus will rotate all these players within an already strong squad. However, with some early season injuries already to forward Pernille Harder and midfielder Sydney Lohmann, the team will need this strength in depth.

Bayern Munich have been drawn in Group C and will face Paris Saint-Germain, Roma and Ajax.